News Flash

Goochland County has once again been recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the FY2024 Budget. 

Goochland has received nine Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards, starting with FY2015, and has received the award every year since FY2018.  This award represents a significant achievement for Goochland County and reflects the commitment of the Board of Supervisors and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. To receive this award, the County has to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well the budget serves as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communications device. 

Since FY2015, the Budget Book has doubled in size. The Finance team spends months compiling, preparing, and reviewing information from all County departments and agencies to ensure accuracy and alignment with County goals and objectives. 

The process starts in October with preparing revenue projections, followed by department and agency meetings to review initial budget requests. A draft budget is provided to the Board of Supervisors and residents in February, followed by Budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) work session in March. Spring Town Hall meetings are also held to allow for residents to provide valuable input on the draft budget. Finally, the budget is presented again in early April during a public hearing to receive additional input and adopted at another Board of Supervisors meeting later that month.  

The GFOA focuses on a very detailed view of the County’s Budget Book to ensure that each Department’s goals and objectives align with the County’s overarching goals and objectives.  In addition, they review the County’s Capital Improvement Plan details and impacts future operational costs.  This means the County not only includes details on all projects initial costs, but also the future costs of maintaining each project, and how revenue streams will meet the future obligations. 

“Goochland County’s commitment to Transparency is once again shown to be exemplary.”, said Victor Carpenter, County Administrator. “I commend the staff who put in many hours of tedious work to make this annual document possible.”

Residents looking to get an in-depth look at the County’s budget, goals, and objectives are encouraged to view the FY2025 budget book here, and to stay tuned for upcoming meetings regarding the FY2026 budget process.